Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Ultan Lankford]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I would have thought you could find availability as you are looking far enough in advance.

I would use BA's search (it is free to sign up). Especially for South America, it will give options on TAM etc.

yea, there is availability but the JNB - GIG flight shows up only as Emirates which is no good. Ill give BA a go and see if TAM flights show up. Even Qatar would be OK here as well.

 

[Doctore1003]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Am I correct in thinking This could possibly be (ab)used for 2 separate trips?
If I were to fly myself to a cheap Asian airport (say SIN or KUL) and begin an Asia and American adventure there, I could have leg 1 consist of:
SIN-HKG-PEK-YVR-LAS-LIM-MEL or ~ 18,000 miles

Then, before the year is up, continue with a second adventure to Europe...
MEL-DOH-HEL-CDG-ATH-KUL-MEL or ~ 18,000 miles

A few questions...
- The distance thing, I might have to pay to return from the same/another cheap asian airport. (How is this enforced by the way? Will they prevent the full booking from happening it it calculates as being 1 mile too long? Or just prevent me from boarding after the 35,000th mile?)
- Can I finish in Melbourne if I have already stopped here? What if I returned via MEL to SYD, but failed to board the SYD sector?
- Sounds like the fact that i'm not heading in one direction isn't an issue?
- Some of the sectors above include ground transportation. How many times can I do this?

... Basically, is there a page that has all of the rules listed for the reward RTW, so I can at least plan on getting the most use out of it

Agree that this is a great way to use the OWA. We are doing this soon, with a trip to the USA in September and then Japan next April. It's ex-SIN with MEL as a stopover and ending in SYD.

Use Great Circle Mapper to calculate the miles - there is no way you'll be able to fit the itinerary you suggested, but something less ambitious is doable

Ex-AKL is also an option.

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

yea, there is availability but the JNB - GIG flight shows up only as Emirates which is no good. Ill give BA a go and see if TAM flights show up. Even Qatar would be OK here as well.

The only way to get to GIG from JNB (or anywhere in Sth Africa for that matter) with OW is with TAM with a connection in GRU. But J availability when I tried 18 months ago never showed up, and the long way around added too many extra miles for us so I think the best chances of getting J seats to GIG are via USA, LHR or MAD

 

[BassDogg]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I got some advice a couple of months ago on this thread, and I finally booked (had been waiting for confirmation from work before I booked) so I thought I would share my booking:
140,000 point redemption
ADL-MEL
MEL-LHR
LDN (GTW) - EDI
EDI - JFK
JFK - ADL

I wanted to route through Singapore to visit a friend on my way to LDN but unfortunately there was no availability in the second half of June. I'll be taking a little side trip to the Island of Elba in Italy, but as far as I can tell, no OW airlines service the LDN - PSA route.

Total of $850 in taxes which is steep, but is also a result of only booking late and not having some of the availability I wanted.

I have been scoring this thread for helpful advice prior to booking, so just wanted to say thanks!

 

[BenAlexander]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

How are miles calculated?
If I just want to fly Lima to Melbourne (8,069 miles direct), but can only find seats that go via London (16,804 miles)... Will they calculate based on direct distance or flown distance?

 

[cjd600]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

How are miles calculated?
If I just want to fly Lima to Melbourne (8,069 miles direct), but can only find seats that go via London (16,804 miles)... Will they calculate based on direct distance or flown distance?

Flown distance, I believe

 

[Radio8tiv]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

As I mentioned up thread, home via Europe is probably where you're most likely to get J seats. Look up the OW website for routes via Europe and be a bit creative - you will just have to experiment with a variety of different scenarios until you find one that works.

Blown my mind, lol
I had a pretty good idea of an itinerary already but looking at coming back from JFK via Europe will have me planning for a little longer

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Blown my mind, lol
I had a pretty good idea of an itinerary already but looking at coming back from JFK via Europe will have me planning for a little longer

Ha ha! It becomes a bit of an obsession to milk the best value possible out of a 280K award by maxing out miles, stopovers and sectors. The more you look the more places you will find you want to visit especially when you realise how cheap a OW award can be compared to paying cash for the equivalent trip.
To extend the value even further we have found that buying some cheap Y flights of 1 - 2 hrs duration in addition to our J award itineraries or hiring a car to see some countryside means we can have more stopovers (8 on our last trip) for a modest additional cost.

 

[Radio8tiv]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Ha ha! It becomes a bit of an obsession to milk the best value possible out of a 280K award by maxing out miles, stopovers and sectors. The more you look the more places you will find you want to visit especially when you realise how cheap a OW award can be compared to paying cash for the equivalent trip.
To extend the value even further we have found that buying some cheap Y flights of 1 - 2 hrs duration in addition to our J award itineraries or hiring a car to see some countryside means we can have more stopovers (8 on our last trip) for a modest additional cost.

That's what I was planning too making little side trips from the main trip.
My plan for late next year is.... bear in mind I have to come from a city without direct connection overseas, so will be wasting some segments there Please have a look over my plans and I appreciate any feedback

TSV-BNE QF971 B737 stay overnight with family
BNE-ADL QF667 B737
ADL-DOH QR915 A350
DOH-CDG QR39 A380
CDG-MAD IB3741 A320 (First Stopover) then travelling in Y or the train MAD-BCN and BCN-SVQ
SVQ-MAD-VIE IB3949,IB3122 A320 (Second Stopover)
VIE-HEL AY766 A321 (Third Stopover) then maybe going north to Lapland for northern lights side trip
HEL-JFK AY5 A330 but hopefully they will start using the A350 (Fourth Stopover) then in Y/train YTO,YUL,YQB back to JFK
JFK-SCL LAN533 B787 (Fifth Stopover)
SCL-SYD QF28 B747
SYD-BNE-TSV QF524,QF974 B737

 

[travelislife]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

That would be a cracking itinerary! 1 or 2 people? As QF28 is one of the hardest flights to get.

 

[Radio8tiv]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

That would be a cracking itinerary! 1 or 2 people? As QF28 is one of the hardest flights to get.

for two people in J, I went via SCL from reading on here that any USA to AUS is near impossible to get

LA801 via AKL was going to be my backup in case I can't get QF28

 

[ablecookie]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Being doing some long term planning for our J trip for July 17:-

PER-HKG-LAX(stop)-LIM(stop)-LHR(stop)-TXL(stop with EruoRailPass)-DME-PWQ(stop for Astana Expo2017, our prime objective)-DME-DOH-PER

Have taken Vetrade's previous advice and gave up direct Aust flight of SYD/MEL/BNE to LAX and settled with PER-HKG-LAX - looking good, plenty of availability.

It seems LAX-LIM rather scarce, so need to adjust my dates to fit with availability.

However, BA's LIM-LHR is not showing up at all on any dates even on BA site; have joined BA Executive Club to try "Book with Avios", possibly because I don't have any Avios points?

The other thing is, cannot find S7 online, does it mean have to go for assisted booking on the 3 S7 flights? Any idea the general availability on S7? Don't suppose many of us trip over to Siberia!

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

That's what I was planning too making little side trips from the main trip.
My plan for late next year is.... bear in mind I have to come from a city without direct connection overseas, so will be wasting some segments there Please have a look over my plans and I appreciate any feedback

TSV-BNE QF971 B737 stay overnight with family
BNE-ADL QF667 B737
ADL-DOH QR915 A350
DOH-CDG QR39 A380
CDG-MAD IB3741 A320 (First Stopover) then travelling in Y or the train MAD-BCN and BCN-SVQ
SVQ-MAD-VIE IB3949,IB3122 A320 (Second Stopover)
VIE-HEL AY766 A321 (Third Stopover) then maybe going north to Lapland for northern lights side trip
HEL-JFK AY5 A330 but hopefully they will start using the A350 (Fourth Stopover) then in Y/train YTO,YUL,YQB back to JFK
JFK-SCL LAN533 B787 (Fifth Stopover)
SCL-SYD QF28 B747
SYD-BNE-TSV QF524,QF974 B737

A few comments:

People have reported extreme difficulty getting J awards to/from South America. Scarcity is one issue but the other is the apparent randomness of when awards become available making them very hard to find. Some have used Expertflyer to help with notifications of award availability but it’s still a hard slog and you also need extreme flexibility in when you travel. I wouldn’t look at South America as an easier alternative way back to Oz because it definitely isn’t.

The difficulty of getting awards from the US to Oz via LAX means the best alternatives nowadays are going via Asia (NRT or HKG) or via Europe from east coast US. There are some recent posts up thread with more specifics – just be prepared for the possible need to use an extra connection or two and don’t expect to go via DXB.

If you want to look for flights from LAX anyway try for ones departing on a Sunday or Monday – it seems business travellers generally avoid these days because they prefer to get back to Oz at the end of the week rather than the start, so there’s less competition for J awards then.

Why would you only be looking for Y availability from MAD – BCN? We got J awards on that route relatively easily – IB domestic J isn’t that good, but it’s still J!

I wouldn’t be too choosey about aircraft types. It’s difficult enough to find awards without creating a greater degree of difficulty for yourself.

 

[Radio8tiv]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Thanks vetrade for the input

Will definitely look at getting back from JFK via Europe now, do you know if it's allowed to fly back on the same route so CDG-DOH-ADL-BNE-TSV. I know this will give me too many sectors but I'll just officially start from BNE

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Thanks vetrade for the input

Will definitely look at getting back from JFK via Europe now, do you know if it's allowed to fly back on the same route so CDG-DOH-ADL-BNE-TSV. I know this will give me too many sectors but I'll just officially start from BNE

Yes you can fly back via the same route. Can have 2 transits and one stopover in any individual city. Just check your total mileage with any route you’re contemplating. CDG-HKG-BNE on CX is another option which would save you one sector and maybe some mileage as well.

 

[prozac]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

for two people in J, I went via SCL from reading on here that any USA to AUS is near impossible to get

LA801 via AKL was going to be my backup in case I can't get QF28

Why consider LA801 as backup, not good enough as first choice?

 

[prozac]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

...

If I were to fly myself to a cheap Asian airport (say SIN or KUL) and begin an Asia and American adventure there, I could have leg 1 consist of:
SIN-HKG-PEK-YVR-LAS-LIM-MEL or ~ 18,000 miles

Then, before the year is up, continue with a second adventure to Europe...
MEL-DOH-HEL-CDG-ATH-KUL-MEL or ~ 18,000 miles.
...

My maths may not be up o scratch but isn't your itinerary 1k too far? Am I missing something?

 

[Radio8tiv]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Why consider LA801 as backup, not good enough as first choice?

I was trying to keep my sectors down just in case of changes, but your right either would be good, Qantas with the old b747-400 or Lan with their new b787-900. Having never flown business before I was trying to make this trip about the product and experience as much as the destinations, I'll keep my options open to SCL because I was looking forward to checking out the Cassilero Del Diablo winery there

 

[flychrisfly]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I was trying to keep my sectors down just in case of changes, but your right either would be good, Qantas with the old b747-400 or Lan with their new b787-900. Having never flown business before I was trying to make this trip about the product and experience as much as the destinations, I'll keep my options open to SCL because I was looking forward to checking out the Cassilero Del Diablo winery there

That's a long way to go for a drop of wine, but I like your style

Slightly OT: if you have time I'd strongly recommend a hop over the Andes to Mendoza, especially if you enjoy a Malbec. Quick flight, stunning views, and Mendoza is an easy relaxed and attractive town... with plenty of wineries nearby.

 

[prozac]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

... I'll keep my options open to SCL because I was looking forward to checking out the Cassilero Del Diablo winery there

Couldn't find a location on their site? Did you find t through another source?

Mendoza looks interesting too.
Apologies for OT.